Mariah Carey Connection

People Magazine: Lopez, out. Carey, in.

One pop diva will replace another on American Idol next season as Mariah Carey said Monday she’s signed on as a judge.

The deal was announced with show biz flair at the Television Critics Association summer tour in Beverly Hills during comments by Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly about the exodus of Idol judges.

Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have both quit, and Randy Jackson is said to be on the bubble.

“We do, in fact, have one judge whose deal closed very, very recently,” Reilly told reporters at the Beverly Hilton. “It’s an artist that many contestants have tried to emulate, have tried to have sung the songs, have tried to hit the notes and because it really was concluded only hours ago, our judge couldn’t be with us.”

He then put a phone call on speaker phone, and Carey’s voice could be heard.

“I am so excited to be joining Idol,” she said. “First of all, I wanted to be there today and I wish I could’ve been there to tell you, but I think you know this all kind of just happened real quickly, so I can’t wait to get started in a couple months.”

Entertainment Weekly: Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez and now … Mariah Carey.

Fox just made it official: Carey is the latest successful pop diva to join American Idol. The 42-year-old will join the judges table for season 12.

As reported in this week’s issue of EW, Carey has been the leading contender to join the panel this summer, which has seen a flurry of celebrity names floated in the press as possible candidates. Her salary is expected to be somewhere north of $12 million — the sum paid Jennifer Lopez during her first year on the show — and possibly as high as $17 million.

Previously, Simon Cowell was courting Carey as a mentor for X Factor’s second season, though it’s not clear if her Idol announcement precludes an appearance on Fox’s other show.

“It’s the biggest recording artist than any of these [singing competition] shows have ever had,” Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly told critics at their press tour in Beverly Hills on Monday. “It’s an artist many of these contestants have tried to emulate. [The deal] only concluded only hours ago. Not being the only game in town we need to keep things fresh.”

The move comes on the heels of Steven Tyler exiting the hit singing competition, and Fox being unable to convince Lopez to sign on for a third round. Lopez was holding out for a raise beyond her $15 million second-year salary and took to the media to proclaim that she was almost certainly leaving the show. If there was a slight chance of Lopez staying before, it vanished once Fox signed Carey — Fox won’t pay for two high-priced female vocalists.

“I think I can say it’s 100 percent that Jennifer won’t be back on the show,” Reilly said.

Earlier in the morning, Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe (who’s not involved in the judges talks) expressed hope that Lopez would change her mind. “I was really upset to hear of Steven leaving us and the possibility of Jennifer leaving us. She did say ’99 percent.’

Strange thing to say, ’99 percent.’ You’re either leaving or not leaving. I’m hoping she’s not leaving.” Lythgoe is involved in his own negotiations to return to the show and insiders expect he’ll stay on board.

Despite some reports to the contrary, veteran judge Randy Jackson (who, as it so happens, is Carey’s manager and was involved in her negotiations) is now expected to stay on board, though nothing has yet been announced. Either way, Fox is expected to now focus on its search for another male judge. One dark horse (and attractively low budget) candidate is former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert.

Fox’s decision to shake up Idol was effectively made months ago. In recent years, changing Idol‘s panel has typically resulted in a ratings spike, at least at the start of the season. For this year’s 11th season, Fox decided to leave the panel unchanged from the previous year and the series suffered the largest ratings drop in the show’s history. Though the show’s audience was still huge, averaging 18 million viewers per week, ratings were down 23 percent. What do you think? Will Mariah Carey improve Idol‘s ratings?

New York Daily News: – Mariah Carey will be joining “American Idol” as a judge for the upcoming season.

Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly confirmed the hire on the phone with Carey in front of television critics in Los Angeles Monday.

She said she is “thrilled” to be joining,

Reilly said he couldn’t comment on anything else involving the show, including the status of judge Randy Jackson, but he did say he thinks it’s “100%” that Jennifer Lopez will be leaving.

Reilly noted Jackson “was instrumental” in bringing Carey on board.

He said that while “Idol” remains “vital,” the decline in ratings last season made it imperative to “keep things fresh.”

E! Online: Jennifer Lopez is definitely out. Steven Tyler is definitely out.

And Mariah Carey is…so in!

Fox President Kevin Reilly just announced to reporters at the TV Critics Association press tour that Mariah closed a deal (“only hours ago”) to become a judge on the next season of American Idol.

Mariah herself spoke to reporters via speakerphone, saying: “I am so excited to be joining Idol. I wish I could have been there myself to tell you. It all kind of just happened real quickly. I can’t wait to get started in a couple months…I will see you in January!”

Reilly did not underplay Mariah’s casting, telling reporters: “It’s the biggest recording artist than any of these shows have ever had. It’s an artist many of these contestants have tried to emulate. [The deal] only concluded only hours ago. Not being the only game in town, we need to keep things fresh.”

Reilly declined to comment on whether long-time staple Randy Jackson would return, but pointed out, “Randy has been working with Mariah for a long, long time and is in fact her co-manager. Randy was very instrumental in this deal.”

As for Jennifer’s status, Reilly put all the rumors to rest by saying there is no chance of her returning for the following season. “I think I can say that’s 100 percent that Jennifer won’t be coming back to the show.” Reilly called it a “mutual agreement” with Steven and Jennifer.
Excited for Mariah’s casting? Who else are you hoping to see at the judges’ table this January?